"Am I My Brother's Keeper?"
East of Eden - Jonathan Stienbeck.
This book came to me when my Grandma moved out of her house and into her apartment. I could guess just by looking at it what kind of book it is, and so filed it under the IB Book pile. (My room consists of 3 piles of books, IB, Terry Pratchett, and General. These are all books I read for fun, and have a rotation. General - IB - Pratchett. IB stands for Interanational Baccalorete, and while I'm not in IB any more, the books in those pile are similar to those that I would have read in IB). It's a book that requires quite a bit of thinking, but in the end I really enjoyed it.
I will do my best to not turn this into a commentary, although I'd love to take the time to rip it apart and analyze it.
East of Eden is ultimately a retelling of the Biblical story of Cain and Abel, although it certainly takes its time getting there. It takes place at the turn of the century, and follows two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, who become connected through a series of events (though not in the way I thought, and I'm glad for that.) The Hamiltons did not play the role I thought they would either. The book starts with the story of Cyrus Trask, who fathers Adam and Charles. The book follows Adam mostly, as he was forced into the army by his father, who was also a soldier, and then through his life. The book's focus falls onto his twin sons Aron and Caleb towards the end, who take on the roles of Abel and Cain respectively. (And I just realized how much I love the naming in this book. Look at the repetion of letters.) I can't say much more without launching into the long and convoluted plot.
The characters made the book for me, though the flowing style of the writing made it an easy read, as opposed to a slog. I loved the character of Lee, the Chinese man who is servant to Adam. He transcends his culture however, starting out speaking pidgen english, but then moving to a more proper tongue and then having interest in different religions. His relationship with Samuel Hamilton, another character I loved, was so interesting. Cal was also very interesting and I found myself caring for him a great deal.
If I can say anything bad, the book is, well, depressing as hell. Bad things happen to the characters and they have no way out. People die. I can understand that tragedy of the ending, based on the story's predecessor, and the end has a little hope, but still. Some of the passages I just sped through because they got difficult to read.
So, yeah, a few thoughts of East of Eden, without me ripping the book apart going "Ooo imagery! Ooo Theme! Look at how it means!".
100books:
1. East of Eden - Jonathan Stienbeck
Reading:
Jingo - Terry Pratchett.
Anatomy of Criticism - Northrop Frye. (School)
Folk and Fairy Tales. (School).
Next:
Interred With Their Bones - Jennifer Lee Carrell. (Aka: The book I got for Christmas 2007 that I only got around to reading now because I'm just that pathetic.)
Nothing interesting more to say. Other than the fact that I go to Play tomorrow. Play = Kinda like Video Games Live but more fanservicey (ie: more obscure stuff) and less the spectacle that VGL is.